Scriptural Encounter

Programme 2024

New series of webinars starting Thursday 10th October 2024, 4-5:30pm

Faith responses to peace-making in the Israel-Palestine conflict

As the  war approaches its anniversary, the prospects for an end, let alone for peace, seem more remote than ever.

People of all the Abrahamic faiths, for whom this battleground is Holy Land, feel they have a stake in the conflict wherever they live. This series of Scriptural Encounter addresses the question, ‘What might be the role of the faith traditions in encouraging measured reconciling solutions?’ 

Our purpose will be to explore ways to deal with tensions that arise from our respective Scriptural traditions. The presenters for each faith, speak from both their academic and confessional standpoints. They are people who are actively involved in peace-making efforts, and will discuss the foundational Scriptural texts that inspire and guide their work.

Thursday 28 November, 4-5.30pm

The third webinar will be presented by Rabbi Dr. Daniel Roth. Rabbi Dr. Daniel Roth is Director of Mosaica, an Israeli NGO advancing community mediation and dialogue and Director Emeritus of the Pardes Center for Judaism and Conflict Resolution. He teaches graduate courses on religion and peace building at Bar-Ilan University’s Conflict Resolution, Management and Negotiation Graduate Program, at Tel Aviv University’s International Program in Conflict Resolution and Mediation, and at Hebrew University’s Coexistence in the Middle East summer program. He has been active and published widely on religious mediation in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is the author of Third Party Peacemakers In Judaism: Text Theory and Practice, O.U.P 2021.

This a free talk. Book a place to receive Zoom details here. 

Tuesday 5th November 4-5:30pm

The second webinar will be presented by Dr Salim Munayer, who is director and founder of Musalaha Ministry of Reconciliation, which has been bringing Israelis and Palestinian together since 1990. Salim is a Palestinian-Israeli born in Lod as one of six children and received his BA from Tel Aviv University in History and Geography, his MA from Fuller Theological Seminary, graduate studies in New Testament from Pepperdine University and his PhD from the Oxford Center of Mission Studies in the UK. His doctoral dissertation was written on “The Ethnic Identity of Palestinian Arab Christian Adolescents in Israel.

He has published several books on Reconciliation, the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, and Christians in Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Salim served as academic dean of the Bethlehem Bible College from 1989 to 2008, and continues to serve as a professor at the college. He is also an adjunct professor at Fuller Theological Seminary. 

To join the talk, book your free place here. 

Thursday 10th October 4-5:30pm

The first webinar will be presented by Dr Kerim Balci, a Turkish writer, journalist, academic and human rights activist. He is recently the editor-in-chief of Turkish Review, a bimonthly journal.

He holds degrees in Middle Eastern Politics from the Boğaziçi University in Turkey and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He lectures at the US-based Respect Graduate School on topics like Islamic logic, epistemology, and hermeneutics.

In the UK he founded and continues to contribute to “Online Hizmet” to inform and inspire the Muslim community.

Places are free but you must book to receive the Zoom details:

https://scripturalencounteroctober.eventbrite.co.uk/

RELIGIOUS TRADITION AND THE PROBLEM OF WAR

Our next series of Scriptural Encounters will address this subject of “Religious Tradition and the Problem of War”, beginning with a focus on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.

"The degree to which religion has been co-opted by both sides to support the war has been startling, and has put the question of the role of religion in war back on the agenda of public debate in the West.” - Prof. Philip Alexander.

As usual, our approach will be through the perspectives of the Abrahamic faiths.

Supplementing the territorial, economic and political issues stressed in the media, we will examine the theologico-political forces behind the conflict, to gain insights into how people on both sides engage with it from their own faith positions.

Our presenters will speak from both their academic and confessional standpoints:

Tuesday March 21st 2023, 4-5:45 pm GMT

PROF. ANDREW LOUTH, Professor Emeritus of Durham University and a Russian Orthodox Priest: An overview of the history of the split between the Russian and the Ukrainian Orthodox Churches over the current conflict.

PROF. CYRIL HOVORUN of Stockholm School of Theology and Archimandrite of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church: How speakers for the Russian church refer to the biblical texts.

Tuesday April 25th 2023, 4-5:45 pm GMT

DR TARAS KHOMYCH of Liverpool Hope University, a Ukrainian Catholic Priest: Reflections on the leadership of the Ukrainian Catholic Church through scriptural passages.

Co -presenter: REV PROF. EMERITUS REIMUND BIERINGER of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven , Belgium.

If you would like to attend the sessions which will be held on Zoom, please email Rabbi Dr Reuven Silverman, rabbisilverman00@gmail.com.

Past Events 

3 March 22. Scriptural Encounter meeting. The theme of the current series is Gender Diversity. Will be on Islamic texts. Dr Shanon Shah who is currently Visiting Research Fellow at King's College, London. 16.00 - 17.30 on zoom.

18 November 21. Scriptural Encounter meeting. The theme of the current series is Gender Diversity. Prof. Susannah Cornwall of Exeter University will be the presenter with Christian texts. 1200-13:30 on zoom. 

28 October 21. Scriptural Encounter meeting. The theme of the current series is Gender Diversity. Rabbi Ariel Abel will be the presenter with Jewish texts. 1200-13:30 hybrid event, on campus (University Place 4.214) and on zoom. 

27 May 21. Scriptural Encounter meeting. Dr Shuruq Naguib, lecturer in Islamic Studies at Lancaster University will be our presenter on Gender Diversity from an Islamic perspective. 'The Woman Disputant: Gender and Hermeneutics in Praxis'. 2- 3pm Zoom meeting.

15 Apr 21. Scriptural Encounter meeting. Rabbi Lee Wax of New North London Masorti Synagogue and Jewish Women’s Aid will be our presenter on the Domestic Abuse and Violence with Jewish texts. 12-1:30 Zoom meeting. 

18 Mar 21. Scriptural Encounter meeting. Dr Rachel Starr of the Queen’s Foundation Birmingham will be our presenter on the Domestic Abuse and Violence with Christian texts. 12-1:30 Zoom meeting. 

18 Feb 21. Scriptural Encounter meeting. The theme for this year is interpersonal relationships in the Abrahamic Faiths. We will be beginning with Domestic Abuse and Violence, then moving on to Gender Diversity and ending with Mixed Faith relationships. The first session in the series will be led by Mahmoud Afifi who is writing his PhD at Lancaster University on Domestic Violence from an Islamic perspective. 12-1:30 Zoom meeting. 

16th July 2020. Scriptural Encounter meeting. The theme will be Jewish perspectives on women's leadership,  Progressive and Orthodox respectively. Presenters Rabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steen and Rabba Dina Brawer. The meeting will be 4 - 5:30pm and hosted online through Zoom.

25th June 2020. Scriptural Encounter meeting. The theme will be Christian perspective on leadership women  Presenters Rev. Dr. Caroline  Wickens and Jasmine Devadason. The meeting will be 4 - 5:30pm and hosted online through Zoom.

28 May 2020. Scriptural Encounter meeting. The theme will be Islam and Women, looking mainly at issues of witnessing, leadership, and modesty. Presenter Dr Shuruq Naguib, lecturer in Islamic Studies at Lancaster University. Dr Naguib will be presenting a text from Qur’an Surah 33 Al-Ahzab on the wives of the Prophet based upon her research into the subject. The meeting will be 4 - 5:30pm and hosted online through Zoom.

12 Dec 19 Scriptural Encounter meeting, A115 Samuel Alexander Building, 4 - 5.30pm. The theme will be Holy Places, principally Jerusalem (extending to Israel/Palestine) and Mecca. Texts from Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions will be studied and discussed each time with insights offered from other sources as appropriate.1 Aug 19, Scriptural Encounter meeting, A115 Samuel Alexander Building, 4 - 5.30pm (further details to follow).

14 Nov 19 Scriptural Encounter meeting, A115 Samuel Alexander Building, 4 - 5.30pm. The theme will be The Holy Places in the End of Days. Texts from Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions will be studied and discussed each time with insights offered from other sources as appropriate. Presenters will be Rabbi Dr. Paul Strasko, Rev Dr. Dwight Swanson and Dr Seyed Avaei. Texts from the Qur’an, New Testament Texts and Hebrew Bible Texts.

17 Oct 19 Scriptural Encounter meeting, A115 Samuel Alexander Building, 4 - 5.30pm. The theme will be Holy Places, principally Jerusalem (extending to Israel/Palestine) and Mecca. Texts from Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions will be studied and discussed each time with insights offered from other sources as appropriate. Presenters Rabbi Dr Reuven Silverman on the Jewish text, Canon David Holgate on New Testament and Mohammed Ullah on Qur’an. Texts New Testament Texts on Holy Places,  Hebrew Bible Texts on Holy Places , Qur'an Texts on Holy Places.

28 Mar 19, Conversations on the Story of the Binding/Sacrifice of Isaac/Ishmael in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Story in Islam. Led by Philip Alexander and Mohammed Ullah (venue: A116 Samuel Alexander Building).

28 Feb 19, Conversations on the Story of the Binding/Sacrifice of Isaac/Ishmael in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Story in Christianity. Led by Philip Alexander and Caroline Wickens (venue: A116 Samuel Alexander Building).

24 Jan 19, Conversations on the Story of the Binding/Sacrifice of Isaac/Ishmael in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Story in Judaism. Led by Philip Alexander and Bobby Silverman (venue: A116 Samuel Alexander Building).

The Scriptural Encounter Group had three conversations in early 2019 on the story of the Binding/Sacrifice of Isaac/Ishmael in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, chaired by Professor Philip Alexander with the collaboration of members of the three faiths. The first conversation was on the story in the Tanakh/Old Testament and in Judaism. The second and third conversations were on the story in Christianity and Islam. What we try to do is not to judge or critique, but to enter imaginatively and sympathetically into to the way in which each faith uses creatively a story which is important for all three. The discussions were based on a dossier of texts, which can be downloaded in the link below.

Dossier of texts for our series of 3 conversations

1. Aramaic texts for Pseudo Jonathan on Genesis 22

2. Aramaic texts for Pseudo Jonathan on Genesis 22

3. Aramaic texts for Pseudo Jonathan on Genesis 22

4. Aramaic texts for Pseudo Jonathan on Genesis 22

29 Nov 2018, Scriptural Encounter meeting 'Exclusivism and Supersessionism from a Qur’an Perspective', Mohammed Ullah, Honorary Muslim Chaplain to the Manchester Universities. Reading: Texts from the Qur’an 

15 Nov 2018, Scriptural Encounter meeting 'Exclusivism and Supersessionism', Dr. Dwight Swanson,  Co-Director and Senior Lecturer Manchester Centre for the Study of Christianity and Islam, Nazarene College Reading: Hebrews Chapter 8

18 Oct 2018, Scriptural Encounter meeting 'Exclusivism and Supersessionism', Rabbi Ariel Abel of Princes Road Synagogue, Liverpool. Reading: Exclusivism in Jewish Texts.